US president Donald Trump, under pressure to resign after his supporters carried out a deadly breach of the US Capitol last week, said there was tremendous anger about moves to impeach him but added he did not want violence.
“I want no violence,” Trump told reporters as he left for a trip to the border wall in Alamo, Texas.
In his first remarks to reporters since 8 December, the embattled Republican president did not answer a question about whether he would resign.
He criticised impeachment moves by Democratic lawmakers.
“This impeachment is causing tremendous anger and they’re doing it, and it’s really a terrible thing that they’re doing,” Trump said. He added that the move to impeach him, on a charge of inciting insurrection over the Capitol attack, was a continuation of the “witch hunt” against him.
Trump would become the first US president to be impeached twice if the House of Representatives votes in favour of impeachment on Wednesday.